home > tour history > 2007 > hershey > Media Reviews

Sunday, 12th August 2007
Back  

Hershey, PA - Media Reviews

Def Leppard, true to form, rocks best at Hershey By John Duffy

Five minutes into Def Leppard's headlining set, however, it was clear why they earn top billing on this tour. For the record, they can boast four-fifths of their original lineup, which came together in working-class Sheffield, England, as rock-smitten teenagers in 1977.

They started with "Rocket," the 1989 hit that alludes to the groups they most admired: T. Rex, Thin Lizzy, Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Queen, but photographs from their own history paraded across the video screens at the back of the stage.

The power ballad "Love Bites" may have dragged, having to be taken at a lower key than in years past, but the group connected perfectly as it took its last lap with "Armageddon It," "Photograph," and "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

A couple of tunes played on acoustic guitars on the thrust stage about ten rows into the crowd gave the opportunity for a cell phone camera moment.

And if there was still any doubt as to who of these bands was most on top of their game, three fifths of Def Leppard, all of its members teetering around fifty, can still get a way with going bare-chested.

Impressively buff guitarist Phil Collen went sans shirt most of the night.

The band closed with "Rock of Ages" as a light rain began to fall. Singer Joe Elliot closed a night of a hundred clichéd rock shout outs ("Are you ready, Hershey?" being the most overused) with perhaps the most sincere. "Don't forget us, and we won't forget you."

By John Duffy @ Lancaster Online 2007.


Def Leppard dusts off old gems, memories By Kira L. Schlechter

The only band to have nearly all its original members at last night's Hersheypark Stadium show was the British group Def Leppard, but no one seemed to care -- it was a night of remembering times spent at the record player with headphones on.

Def Leppard is between albums, which might have been a good thing, considering its eclectic set list. Opening with a "Hysteria" album double of "Rocket" and "Animal," the band -- members were in lockstep all night -- then slipped in the rarely heard "Excitable," from the same album. It's great to hear a band take a chance and play something just because it wants to.

Singer Joe Elliott made a good many of the night's high notes, including on "Foolin,'" but it was hard to hear him. His vocals and those of guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell and bassist Rick Savage were often muffled and muted. Another rarity, "Mirror, Mirror," was stately and featured lovely dual playing from Collen and Campbell but could have been a touch faster.

"(Another) Hit & Run" was beefy and powerful, and was followed by a raw "Love Bites," marked by fine harmony singing and the melodic outro the band has added to live performances. Savage had his turn in the sun with a liquidy bass solo that kicked off a smoking cover of David Essex's "Rock On," from last year's covers collection, "Yeah!"

They all switched to acoustic guitars, even Elliott, for a nicely done "Two Steps Behind," but the real treat was an unplugged take on the ballad "Bringin' On the Heartbreak," not part of their set lists of late.

The band teasingly left out the choruses, building the suspense, and while Elliott might have taken the song down an octave, he let it rip on the final chorus.

The lyric "Hysteria," the droll "Armageddon It," the big hit "Photograph" and the even bigger hit "Pour Some Sugar On Me" ended the set, but not being able to hear Elliott -- and he was trying his best -- was frustrating. The encore, "Rock of Ages," is always a defiant way to end, kind of like an "amen" at a revival meeting.

None of the bands had any new material. But, again, no one cared. It was all about those memories.

By Kira L. Schlechter @ The Patriot-News 2007.

Back

share this page:



get def leppard news

Stay in touch with the latest updates.




explore def leppard tour history
All News
Tour News
Album News
All Tours